Madison Y Healthy Kids Day is April 26

The Madison Are YMCA is celebrating YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day, the Y’s national initiative to improve families’ health and well-being, on Saturday, April 26, from 1-3 p.m. Healthy Kids Day will feature activities to motivate and teach families how to develop a healthy routine at home. The event will take place on the fields and in the parking lot of the Madison Area YMCA on Kings Road in Madison.

The focus this year is Build A Happier, Healthier Kid based on the incredible potential in every child. Upwards of 150 children along with their family members are expected to attend the event, which focuses on physical activity, nutrition, safety and fun! Kids Races, starting at 1:30 p.m., include Tiny Toddler Trot: 25 yards (walking - 2-years-old); Big Kids, Little Run: 50 yards (3- to 5-years-old); and Kid’s Dash: 100 yards (6+). All race participants will receive a completion medal. The day also features healthy snacks, crafts, washable tattoos and face painting.

Additionally, through the generosity of Madison resident Carmine Toto and his family, guests will have the opportunity to see a 1953 Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Estate dump truck, a Military Transport Association antique military vehicle circa World War II and a West Jersey High Railers Model Railroad Club display located in an original 1928 Delaware Lackawanna Railroad baggage car that houses 1,000 feet of model trains. The baggage care sits at the end of the Madison Area YMCA parking lot.

Summer is the time for kids to get up, get out and grow; but, for some kids, exposure to activities that stimulate the body and mind ends with the school year. YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day, celebrated more than 1,500 Ys across the country, aims to get more kids moving and learning, so they can keep up the habit all summer long – a critical out-of-school time for kids’ health. Research shows that without access to out-of-school physical and learning activities, kids fall behind academically. According to the American Journal of Health, Kids also gain weight two to three times faster during the summer months.

As part of the Y’s commitment to addressing critical gaps in health and education, the Madison Area YMCA is kicking off efforts that encourage kids to stay physically and intellectually active during the summer. Helping bring families and kids together to have fun, be active, learn more and create lasting, healthy habits for the entire family, Healthy Kids Day is just one more way the Y works to strengthen community.

For more information about Healthy Kids Day or to volunteer, contact healthykids@madisonymca.org or call Madison Area YMCA Associate Health & Fitness Director Jennifer Casanova at 973-822-9622, ext. 2281.